


28 Kids and 2 Very Tired Superheroes

by miraculousblonde



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Can Kiss My Ass, F/M, Slow Burn, not bc i hate it but bc i can't be bothered to remember the exact order of events
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24227332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousblonde/pseuds/miraculousblonde
Summary: Marinette and Adrien are working together after school at a daycare. They struggle to balance their lives as heroes and students as they start to realize that they have feelings for each other. What kind of shenanigans will ensue?or, (almost) everything is the same but they work at a daycare.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 13
Kudos: 89





	1. First Day (or Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to my best friend and best beta rebelsalamander for giving me the kick in the ass i needed to start writing fic again and the inspiration for this particular fic! love u
> 
> EDIT 5/24/20  
> I forgot that Amelie is a character in the canon show, the one in this fic is an OC, she is NOT Adrien's aunt.

Gum. On her seat.

Marinette was still mad about that as she walked to her new internship. She was excited to work at the daycare, but the sour start to her day was beginning to ruin her excitement. Another reason to dislike one of Chloe’s cronies – he was ruining her excitement over working with kids! She spotted the colorful sign for the daycare and took a deep breath, resolving herself to letting the daycare become her safe haven from the problems of the school day. She smiled, thinking of the kids.

“Marinette!” Amelie, the head of the daycare, waved at her from the door. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Hi, Amelie,” Marinette said, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “I’m excited to get started.”

“We have another intern that’s starting today!” Amelie said, leading Marinette into the building. “He’s your age and his father arranged the internship. I’m very excited to have you both here.”

Marinette stopped cold in her tracks, eyes locked onto the blonde boy sitting on the rug, talking to one of the kids playing with a pile of blocks. Amelie kept talking, oblivious to Marinette’s sudden, tense silence. “Marinette, I would like you to meet Adrien Agreste.”

Adrien glanced up and his eyes widened when he saw Marinette. She tipped her chin up and looked away. She was still mad and getting madder by the second. How dare he ruin her time with the daycare as well as her day at school. A headache was starting behind her eyes. Adrien stood and held a hand out to Marinette. “Nice to see you again, Marinette.”

“Oh, you two know each other?” Amelie clapped her hands together, smiling widely. “That’s wonderful!”

“Hi,” Marinette said curtly. She didn’t take his hand.  _ So much for her safe haven _ .

“Well,” Amelie said, still oblivious to the tension. “Let’s get started on the tour. You guys are really lifesavers; there’s a lot to do around here and I can’t do it all!”

* * *

“No, Evan, come back!” Marinette pleaded, chasing the small boy around the playroom. “We don’t play with those!”

Evan just cackled maniacally, brandishing the safety scissors at the other child that he was chasing. The poor little girl was hysterical, convinced that Evan was going to cut off her pigtails. Marinette desperately wished that Amelie would come back from doing paperwork in the office. She was not equipped to deal with twenty-eight toddlers by herself.

“Allow me to rescue you, Lili,” Adrien said, scooping Lili off the floor and holding her out of Evan’s reach. Marinette managed to snatch the scissors from Evan’s grasp and took a second to catch her breath. Evan began to cry and Lili was already crying. Marinette’s head still hurt from the fight with Stoneheart and the sudden responsibility of being a superhero that had been thrust upon her. This was getting to be too much and it had only been two days.

“Thank you,” she said to Adrien, albeit a bit begrudgingly. She tucked the safety scissors in their basket out of reach of the children. She sighed when Evan cried louder and crouched in front of him. “We can’t play with the scissors, Evan. It’s not safe.”

“But I wanted to give Lili a haircut!”

“Did Lili ask you to give her a haircut?”

Evan sniffled. “No.”

Marinette gave him a kind smile. “In that case, you can’t cut her hair. She didn’t ask you to. And unless you’re using them, the scissors go in the basket, okay?”

Evan sniffled again. “Okay.”

“Why don’t you go see about playing with Davie? I bet he wants to hear all about those dinosaur toys you were telling me about.”

And just like that, the crisis was over. Evan ran off to play with Davie and forgot all about the safety scissors. Adrien had calmed Lili while Marinette was dealing with Evan. He offered her a weak smile. She huffed and turned away, stacking the drawings that the kids had done earlier on top of the cabinet. Most of them had drawn Chat Noir and Ladybug – she laughed a little at one drawing that depicted her as an actual ladybug. When she turned back around, Adrien was cleaning up the dollhouse, his back to her. She was satisfied with that. They weren’t friends. He was just like Chloe - a rich, stuck-up jerk. The sooner he realized that she wasn’t interested in being friends, the better.

Parents trickled in to pick up their children as the workday ended. Marinette and Adrien made sure that each child had their backpack and lunchbox and Amelie marked off the paperwork that recorded each child’s attendance and when they were picked up. Finally, it was five. Marinette gathered her things and stepped out the door. Under the little awning over the door, she stared out at the rainy streets, cursing herself. She hadn’t brought an umbrella.

Adrien stepped out next to her and gave her a small wave. She turned her head away, not wanting his half-hearted attempts at friendship. If she knew anything about Chloe and her kind, they weren’t sincere. He sighed and opened his umbrella, stepping out into the rain. He had a car waiting for him. She did not.  _ Rich jerk _ . Marinette calculated how long it would take her to get to the nearest metro station. She wouldn’t have to be in the rain for too long if she hurried.

“I just want you to know that I was only trying to get the gum off of your seat,” Adrien said, startling her out of her thoughts.

“You… what?”

“The other day in class,” he said, turning to face her. “I was trying to get the gum off your seat. I swear.” He hesitated. “I’ve never been to school before. Never had friends. Never had an internship like this. It’s all very… new to me.”

Marinette’s eyes widened.  _ An apology. An explanation? _ He smiled a little and held out the umbrella to her. A selflessly kind action. Not at all what she’d expected of him. She reached out to take it, their fingers brushing. A tingle raced up her arm. She inhaled sharply. He let go of the umbrella and she stared at him for another minute as her opinion of him shifted off its axis.

Then, the umbrella closed over her head.

Adrien burst into surprised laughter, clear and honest. Marinette lifted the umbrella away from her face and laughed along. Adrien caught his breath and smiled, bright and unworried. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. Marinette lifted her hand in a half-wave.

“Tomorrow,” she echoed. He jogged to the waiting car and climbed into the backseat. Marinette stared after him for a minute, her heart fluttering. She pressed her hand to her chest. “Why do I feel weird?”

Tikki zipped out of her purse, giving her a knowing grin. “I think I might have an idea!”

Marinette realized what the kwami was implying and shook her head vehemently. “No. No way! I do not have a crush on Adrien Agreste!”

“Oh, of course not,” Tikki said. Marinette stuck her tongue out at her and Tikki laughed, pressing herself to Marinette’s cheek. “If you say so, Marinette.”

“I’m not crushing on him,” Marinette insisted. “I refuse to. I always turn into a mess when I have a crush! I won’t do it.”

“If you say so,” Tikki said. Marinette sighed and hefted the umbrella, heading for the metro station. Things were complicated enough with her new identity as a superhero. She did not have time for a crush on Adrien Agreste.

“I can still admire his work as a model, though,” she said. “His father is a renowned designer, after all.”

Tikki just smirked and hid herself in Marinette’s purse.

* * *

“Evening, my lady,” Chat Noir said, landing next to Marinette on the edge of the roof. She grunted in acknowledgement, tired eyes fixed on the street below. “You look tired.”

“I am tired,” she confessed, rubbing her eyes. “It’s been a long week.”

“It has,” he said, settling down next to her. “Six akumatizations in six days.”

She grunted again. Not only that, but the daycare had been hectic as always. Twenty-eight children and one coworker/classmate that she was trying very hard to not fall in love with. It had been a very long week.

“We can probably go easy on patrol tonight,” Chat Noir said, leaning on his staff and looking at her. “After six failed akumas in a week, Hawkmoth is probably going to take a little bit of a break.”

“We can only hope,” Marinette sighed, but she stood and stretched out her arms. They started their patrol, sprinting and leaping across the rooftops of Paris. She marveled at the city below, the lights twinkling in the dark night. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower sparkled and a concert somewhere echoed guitar riffs and drumbeats. Chat Noir stopped on a rooftop near Notre Dame, staring at a boat along the river. Marinette sat next to him, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the roof, and watched the people go by on the street.

“What do you like to do in your free time?” Chat Noir asked, never taking his eyes off the boat. Marinette startled at the question.

“Chat Noir, you know we can’t discuss our civilian lives–”

“I know,” he said, drawing his knees up to his chest. “You don’t have to tell me anything specific. I just… I feel like I barely know you.”

Marinette stared down at the street. “I like to draw,” she finally said. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”

“I play the piano,” he said.  _ Like Adrien _ , she thought absently, then banished the thought from her mind. “I like video games.”

“Me too,” Marinette said, laughing a little. “My parents and I play them together.”

“That’s cool,” he said, something sad flicking across his expression. It was gone before she could decipher it. She watched the street for a little while longer.

“I think we should call it a night,” she said. “It looks like a quiet enough night.”

He hopped to his feet and offered her a hand up. She took it and he lifted it to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. “Until next time, my lovely lady.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away by his nose. “Silly cat. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

He grinned at her, cat-like, and bounded away into the night. She headed for the bakery, dropping onto her balcony with a practiced flip. Her transformation dropped and Tikki flitted out in front of her. “Was it a good idea to talk to him about your civilian lives?”

“We didn’t say much,” Marinette said. “Besides, I was vague about what I did say. It’s nice to get to know him a little.”

Tikki hugged Marinette’s cheek. “I’m glad you are getting along. The cat and the ladybug miraculous holders should always be close partners!”

Marinette laughed, cupping Tikki against her cheek. “Just friends, though, Tikki. That silly cat won’t be stealing my heart anytime soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go folks *cracks knuckles*


	2. Puppet Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another huge thanks to rebelsalamander for putting up with my shit and being my beta! i couldn't have done it without her

Marinette pushed her hair off her face and squinted at the needle of her sewing machine. The seam still looked crooked to her. She sighed and pulled the fabric free, hunting for her stitch ripper.

Tikki lifted the small tool up off the floor for her. “Marinette, you should go to bed! It’s getting really late and you have school tomorrow.”

“I just need to finish this one seam,” Marinette assured her, ripping out the stitches. “Then I promise I’m going to go to bed.”

Tikki settled on the desk next to the sewing machine, munching on the cookie that Marinette gave her. They settled into a comfortable silence as Marinette worked. She wanted to have a few minutes to herself, after all, even if it was late. Sewing was her escape from everything else she had to do - the daycare, school, saving Paris. Tikki finished her cookie and flew over to help. Marinette finished ripping out the seam and put the garment back under the sewing machine, trying again to get the seam right. It still came out a little crooked, but she decided to live with it and turned off the light, crawling into bed. Tikki curled up on the pillow next to her and Marinette closed her eyes, her body relaxing almost instantly. She fell asleep quickly, barely remembering to pull the blankets over herself.

Too soon, her alarm was going off and Tikki was tugging at her hair to wake her up. “Come on, Marinette, you have to get up and get to school!”

“Right,” Marinette murmured, turning her face into the pillow. “School.”

“Marinette!” Tikki cried, flying directly in front of her face. “School! You’re going to be late!”

That woke Marinette up. She sat up in bed, bonking Tikki with her forehead. The kwami went flying. “I can’t be late! That’ll be the third tardy this week! I’m running out of excuses!”

“At least this time it’s not because of saving Paris,” Tikki said, seemingly unbothered by the headbutt she’d received. “Just good old-fashioned sleeping in!”

“Don’t tease me, Tikki, I’m panicking!” Marinette said, throwing her clothes on. She frantically brushed her hair into her pigtails and grabbed her backpack off the floor. She sprinted downstairs, flinging greetings at her parents as she blazed by, and nearly got hit by a car on her way across the street. She skidded into the classroom and slid into her seat just as Miss Bustier was beginning to call roll.

“Close call,” Alya said. “Sleep in?”

“Yeah, I was up late working on that blouse,” Marinette said. Miss Bustier called her name. “Here!” She turned back to Alya. “I almost slept through my alarm.”

“Lucky that you didn’t. I heard Miss Bustier is going to give a pop quiz today.”

“No way!”

“Pop quiz!” Miss Bustier called, always with her unshakeable smile. “I hope you’ve been doing your history homework.”

Marinette glanced at the desk in front of them. Nino was bemoaning his lack of studying and Adrien was patting his shoulder, promising to tutor him sometime.  _ Wish he’d tutor  _ me _ sometime _ , a voice in the back of her head said.  _ Shut up _ , she told it.

The pop quiz wasn’t too difficult in the end. Marinette managed to make it through the rest of the school day with little trouble, though she did find herself falling asleep in Miss Mendeleev’s class. When the final bell of the day rang, she gathered her books into her bag, said goodbye to Alya, and resolved herself to being exhausted with the children at the daycare.

“Mind if I walk with you?”

Marinette jumped nearly a foot in the air and screamed, her bag falling to the ground and spilling her books. Adrien instantly started to apologize for startling her, crouching down to help her pick up the books. She wished that she could attribute the entirety of her near-heart attack to being startled. She, unfortunately, could not. He wanted to walk with her. Not that it mattered. She took a deep breath to calm her heartrate and picked up her bag, accepting the books that he offered her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle that badly.”

“No, no, I’m sorry for startling you.”

“It’s okay, really,” Marinette said, slipping her bag back onto her shoulders. “I’m just tired, I guess.”

“Do you mind if I walk with you to the daycare?” He stuck his hands into his pockets. “Since we’re going in the same direction.”

“Of course,” Marinette said, now that she’d mentally prepared for the question. They started down the street in the direction of the daycare. It was a beautiful, sunny day out and the streets weren’t as clogged as they could have been, so it would be a nice walk. “How do you think you did on the pop quiz this morning?”

“It wasn’t hard,” Adrien said, shrugging. “You?”

“About the same,” she said, pushing the button for the crosswalk. “I wonder if she’s going to start giving more pop quizzes.”

“Who knows,” he said. They spent the rest of the walk making small talk. The weather, the antics of their classmates, things like that. Marinette was beginning to enjoy his company. She had to ignore how much her heart fluttered when he smiled at her, but she was enjoying it. In an entirely platonic, non-crushing-on-him way. Yeah. Platonic.

When they entered the daycare, a very harried-looking Amelie was trying to soothe a crying child while three others smeared paint on the walls. She turned to Marinette and Adrien with a panicked look in her eye. “I’m so glad the two of you are here. Could you help me out on this?”

Marinette dealt with the crying child while Adrien took care of the painting ones. She hugged the little girl and promised that her mother would be coming back while watching Adrien handle the three painters. He was crouched in front of them, his eyes soft as he explained why “we keep the paint on the paper, remember? That way we can bring it home to show our parents.” He patted one of the kids on the head and sent them back to the art corner to make their paintings on the paper. Marinette refocused on the crying child in her arms, stroking her hair as she continued to sob. Adrien picked his way around them to get to the cleaning supply closet. He ruffled the girl’s hair on his way by and began to clean up the paint on the walls.

By the time Marinette had fully calmed the girl, who she now remembered was named Bella, Adrien was finished cleaning the paint off the walls. Bella dragged her to the dollhouse and started to direct her in a game of arranging the dolls perfectly so that the next kid would know which doll was which.

“That one is the mommy, so she goes right there,” Bella explained as she carefully balanced the “brother” doll on top of the television. “No, no, next to the bathtub.”

“I see,” Marinette said, moving the doll to the other side of the bathtub. Bella nodded approvingly. “Well, Bella, I’m going to go see if any of the other friends need my help with something, okay?”

Bella just nodded again, brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to get the “daddy” doll to balance perfectly on the chimney. Marinette stood and headed into the other room, where most of the other kids were having their snack. Adrien was overseeing this, filling little paper cups with water and gently correcting the kids that tried to leave without washing their hands. She wondered how many hours of piano it had taken to get his hands as graceful as they were. He glanced up when Marinette entered the room and smiled at her. She ignored the way that her heart flipped over in her chest at his smile and handed a napkin to Jacob, who had applesauce smeared on his cheek.

“Marinette!” Amelie said, hurrying into the snack room. “Oh, Adrien, you’re in here too, great. I need to head out for a little while to pick up the new furniture for the nap room, could the two of you hold down the fort while I’m gone?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “How long will you be gone?” she squeaked, thinking of the potential catastrophe of the two of them alone with the twenty-eight children.

“It shouldn’t be long,” Amelie assured them. “An hour at the longest. I’ll be back before five, I promise.”

Adrien nodded, one of the kids jumping up and grabbing his arm. “We’ll handle everything here, Amelie, don’t worry.”

Marinette wondered briefly if her parents would have a nice funeral for her when Amelie returned to find her and Adrien dead from whatever the kids cooked up. They would have a nice one, for sure. Flowers, a cake with her face on it, and Jagged Stone playing a classical piece in hard-rock style on his guitar. They would invite all of Paris, even Ladybug, and be devastated when the superhero didn’t show. Tikki would reveal herself to the crowd and, terrified, her parents would set the place on fire to kill the demon. They’d give her a Viking funeral on the Seine and adopt a dog to make up for their loss. No, a hamster. Amelie said something else and left. One of the kids started to cry.

_ We’re definitely going to die, _ Marinette thought.

“Okay,” Adrien said, and Marinette was relieved to see a little bit of the panic that she was feeling reflected in his eyes. “Why don’t we have a puppet show?”

* * *

“And Ladybug and Chat Noir save the day once again!” Marinette said, dancing the puppets across the stage. The kids cheered and clapped. Marinette glanced at the clock. Five thirty. Adrien cleared their little puppet stage and started to set up another show. He met Marinette’s eyes and she looked away, searching for another akuma puppet from the pile. This would be their third puppet show while they stalled, waiting for Amelie to come back. The kids hadn’t gotten tired of it yet.

“And now, the thrilling tale of Ladybug and Chat Noir and their fight against Monsieur Pigeon!” Adrien said, setting the little puppet that Marinette had made of the most ridiculous akuma down. “He wanted to take over Paris with an army of pigeons!”

The kids booed. Marinette sighed and set up the little felt pigeons she and the kids had made a few weeks before during craft time. She began to narrate the battle, manipulating the Ladybug and Chat Noir puppets while Adrien controlled Monsieur Pigeon and his army. At some point, her phone buzzed as her dad tried to call. She ignored it, glancing at the clock. It was getting later and later. What was keeping Amelie? Even though the crowd of kids had been thinned by parents coming to pick them up, they still had fifteen toddlers on their hands.

It was nearly six when Amelie finally burst through the door, her hands full of papers. Two large men followed behind, carrying the awaited nap room furniture. “So sorry I’m late, there was a problem with the furniture and then traffic was  _ terrible _ , you know how it is.”

“It’s perfectly alright, Amelie,” Adrien said, standing and cleaning up the puppet show stage. The kids let out cries of disappointment and he patted their heads on the way by. Marinette shot off a text to her parents, relieved that Amelie was there. Adrien took the stack of folders and papers from Amelie and set them on the nearest cabinet. “We had things under control, but we really need to go now. I’m late and I’m sure Marinette’s parents are expecting her.”

“Of course, I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s okay, we understand,” Marinette said, smiling at her. “I’m just glad everything is okay.”

“Yes, it is,” Amelie said. “Oh, no, Lukas, don’t play with that! You two get home, I’m sure you have homework and family commitments. The last of the parents should be here to pick up their kids soon, I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure,” Adrien said. He turned to Marinette. “Since you’re so late, would you like a ride home? I saw that your dad was trying to call earlier.”

Marinette blinked. “Yeah, that would be really nice. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem, I’m sure Nathalie and my driver won’t mind.” He typed something into his phone and said, “They’re already waiting outside. You live right by the school, right?”

“Yeah,” Marinette said. She picked up her bag, waved to the kids, and followed him out the door. “My parents own the bakery there.”

“Your parents own the bakery?” he said, turning to her with wide eyes. “I’ve always wanted to try your sweets!”

“Since we’re going there anyways, I’m sure you can stop in and get some,” Marinette said.

Adrien opened the door to the backseat for her and she climbed into the car. He climbed in after her. The woman in the front passenger seat turned around and frowned at them. “Adrien, you’re already an hour late getting home. We don’t have time for detours.”

“It won’t take that long, Nathalie,” he said. “Besides, Marinette’s late too, and this way she’ll get home faster.”

Nathalie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose but didn’t argue further. Adrien leaned forward to give the directions to the driver. Marinette clutched her bag in her lap. He was already late and he was still taking the time to get her home. She wondered if he would get in trouble with his dad for this. She hoped not. He was just being kind, after all.

Her heart did a dangerous jump in her chest. She pushed the feeling down.

When they reached the bakery, Adrien pleaded with Nathalie to let him get out and get something. She finally relented when he promised to buy her a sweet bun. Marinette pushed the door to the bakery open. Her dad was behind the counter, wrapping up a box of sweets for a customer. Her mom appeared from the back room. “Marinette! You’re earlier than we expected.”

“Adrien gave me a ride,” Marinette said. She turned and saw him looking over a display of sweets and breads with hungry eyes. “He wanted to stop in and try out some of our sweets.”

“That was so kind of him!” Sabine said. “Here, we’ll box you up some, on the house.”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, that’s not necessary–”

“Nonsense!” Tom boomed, stepping out from behind the counter. “It’s the least we could do for you, since you made sure our little girl got home safe.”

“Really, it was no problem–”

“Some macarons, a few sweet buns, some cookies of course, and a loaf of bread for the road.” Sabine hadn’t seemed to notice Adrien’s protests. She closed the box of goodies and handed it to Adrien with a motherly smile. “You’re welcome to come by anytime, honey. We always love to have Marinette’s friends over.”

Adrien finally smiled, taking the box. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.” He nodded to Marinette. “I’ll see you at school.”

“Bye.” She turned back to her parents. They were smiling at her knowingly. “What?”

“He’s a very nice young man,” Sabine said, turning away to pick up a tray of buns. “What did you say his name was again?”

“Adrien,” Marinette said, inching past them. “I have lots of homework to get started on, so I’m gonna go.”

“Okay, honey, but be down for dinner.”

She escaped to the safety of her room. Tikki flew out of her purse. “That was very kind of Adrien to give you a ride like that. I hope he doesn’t get in trouble with his dad for being late.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Tikki.” Marinette sat down in front of her sewing machine. “Okay, time to finish this blouse.”

“I thought you said you had homework.”

“I do. I’ll do it when I’m done with the blouse.”

Tikki sighed and settled down on the pincushion next to the sewing machine, but she didn’t argue. 

* * *

“Chat Noir, cataclysm that pillar!” Marinette shouted, jumping out of reach of the akuma. He ran for the pillar she pointed at and she barely heard the shout as she dodged another swipe from the monster. She zeroed in on the necklace that hid the akuma and leaped for safety as the pillar collapsed into the trap that she had set. With the monster trapped, she walked up and crushed the pendant. The black butterfly flew out. She captured and purified it, tossing the lucky charm in the air with her usual cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!” The destruction was swept away and she helped the confused young woman that replaced the monster to her feet. “I believe this is yours.”

“My necklace!” The woman slipped it over her head. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

Marinette just nodded. Chat Noir walked over, leaning on his staff and grinning at her. “What an exciting patrol, Bugaboo. We don’t always get to fight an akuma at night.”

“It has been an eventful night,” Marinette said. “And don’t call me Bugaboo!”

“Whatever you say, my lady,” he said, bowing with a dramatic flourish. “I’ll see you next time Paris needs us.”

She smiled. “Bye, kitty.”

He leapt away into the dark. Marinette turned to the onlookers. “Everyone head home, it’s all taken care of now!”

“Ladybug! Ladybug, over here!” Alya pushed her way to the front of the crowd. “Would you answer a few questions?”

Marinette’s earrings beeped at her. She was quietly relieved; she didn’t have time to talk to Alya. She gave her a rueful smile and a wave. “Maybe next time. Bug out!”

She was exhausted when she reached the bakery. Her transformation dropped and she collapsed onto the chair sitting on the balcony with a groan. “Tikki, I think I need a vacation.”

Tikki giggled, settling down on Marinette’s stomach. “Villains don’t take vacations, Marinette.”

“Well maybe they should,” Marinette grumbled. “It would make my life a lot easier if they did. I have school and the daycare  _ and  _ saving Paris to worry about. I’m going to burn out sooner or later.”

“You’ll figure it out, Ladybug always does,” Tikki said. “I believe in you.”

“Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette stretched out her arms. “I should go to bed. At least I finished my homework tonight. I won’t have to stay up any later.”

“Let’s try not to be late to school again,” Tikki said, following Marinette back into her bedroom. “I don’t think Miss Bustier is going to let you get away with it again. Let alone Alya!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does this have a plot? theoretically, yes


	3. Halloween Gets Interesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i forgot that Amelie is a canon character. the Amelie that runs the daycare is NOT Adrien's aunt, she is an OC made up specifically for this AU.  
> a HUGE thank you to rebelsalamander for betaing this fic, she is the platonic love of my life

“Adrien,” Plagg whined, floating behind him as he got ready for the day. “I just want a little more of the camembert.”

“You already had everything in the cabinet, you little glutton,” Adrien replied. “I’m not taking more from the kitchen until tonight.”

Plagg collapsed dramatically onto the nearest surface (Adrien’s head) and said, “I’m going to starve, Adrien! What will Paris do without me?”

“Have more camembert to spare.” Adrien brushed Plagg off his head. “Please behave today. We don’t want another bracelet incident.”

“Mistake a bracelet for some cheese one time,” Plagg grumbled, but he flew into Adrien’s bag and quieted down. Adrien jogged down the stairs and Nathalie met him at the front door, her ever-present tablet in her hands.

“We need to discuss your schedule for today,” she said as a way of greeting, walking with him to the car. “After school, your father has a charity benefit party planned for four o’clock that he’s asked you to appear at."

Adrien stopped abruptly, his hand on the car door. “I can’t; I have to work at the daycare.”

Nathalie pursed her lips. “Your father already discussed it with your supervisor at the daycare. She agreed to give you the afternoon off for the charity benefit.”

“Nathalie,” he said, getting into the car when his driver made a grunt of annoyance. She climbed into the front seat and they started out towards the school. “It’s Halloween. The kids have been excited about this for weeks. And I can’t just leave Marinette hanging like that!”

“I’m sure she’ll understand,” Nathalie said stiffly, tapping something out on the tablet. “You have other responsibilities.”

“Please, Nathalie,” Adrien pleaded. “The kids will be so disappointed if I’m not there today. I can’t let them down like this. Can I appear at the party after five, just so that I can still be at the daycare?”

They had a short stare-down before Nathalie sighed, tapped something into her tablet, and said, “I can schedule you to appear at the party at five-thirty instead.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Adrien hugged her around the back of her seat. She stiffened under his touch but quickly softened.

“I’ll see you at five sharp. We’ll have your clothes for the party.”

“Is it not a costume party?”

“Of course not,” Nathalie said, once again occupied by her tablet. Adrien almost snorted at the hint of offense in her tone. They stopped before the school and he climbed out. Nino was waiting on the sidewalk outside and bumped fists with Adrien when he appeared.

“What’s kicking, dude?” Nino said, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

“My dad wants me at this charity benefit thing tonight,” he replied, heading up the stairs. “He even tried to make me miss work at the daycare for it!”

“Wait, so you can’t go trick-or-treating with me and Alya and Marinette?” Nino asked. Adrien smacked his forehead with one hand, disappointment seeping in as he remembered their plans. He’d been so excited.

“I’m sorry, Nino, I totally forgot. I was so worried about disappointing the kids from the daycare; I didn’t even think of that. There’s no way Nathalie will work that into my schedule now that I’ve made her change the first part.”

“It’s all cool, dude,” Nino said, shrugging. “I’m sure we’ll manage without you.” They sat down in Miss Bustier’s classroom. “It is a bummer that you can’t go.”

Alya leaned forward over her desk. “Did you just say that Adrien can’t go tonight?”

“Yeah, his dad is making him go to some charity benefit party instead,” Nino said. “Totally not cool.”

“I really wanted to hang out with you guys tonight, I’m sorry,” Adrien said.

“Sorry about what?” Marinette asked, dropping her bag onto the desk next to Alya. Adrien grimaced. At least he wasn’t abandoning her at the daycare with all the hyper kids. He loved them, but they could be a lot. He would have felt awful if she had to deal with them by herself.

“Adrien can’t trick-or-treat tonight,” Alya said. “His dad is making him do a charity benefit.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that party!” Marinette said. “It’s going to be crawling with some of France’s best fashion designers!” She sighed dreamily, putting her chin in her hands. “I’d kill to be able to talk to just one of them.” Something seemed to occur to her and she sat straight up, staring Adrien down. “Wait, you’re not missing work today, are you?”

“No,” he assured her. “Nathalie adjusted my schedule so that I can still go to work.”

“Good,” she said. He smiled at her and she flushed. She suddenly needed to find something in her bag.

“I have an idea,” Alya said, a glint in her eye. “Since Adrien can’t come to us, maybe we can go to him.”

Marinette turned a suspicious gaze on Alya, apparently done searching through her bag. “What are you planning?”

Alya fixed Adrien in her gaze. “Do you think you’ll be able to get the three of us tickets to that party?”

Adrien’s heart lifted. “I bet I could! I’ll talk to Nathalie at lunch. I’m sure she’ll be able to do it.”

“Dude!” Nino cried, throwing his arms up. “We get to go to the party!”

“It’s a fancy one,” Adrien reminded him. “You’ll have to wear something nice.”

“You could wear that dress,” Alya said to Marinette. “The one you’ve been working on.”

“No, not to that party,” Marinette said, flapping her hands nervously. “I still need to finish the stitching on the bodice and it’s not nearly nice enough.”

“I’m sure it’s great,” Adrien said encouragingly. “That hat you designed was really good, so I’m sure that it will be wonderful.”

Marinette apparently hadn’t found that something in her bag and dug through it again, the tips of her ears pink.

_ Sometimes I think she hates me, _ Adrien thought sadly, turning back to the front as Miss Bustier called for their attention and started the lesson. He felt Plagg shifting around in his bag and kicked it gently with his foot as a reminder for him to behave. The Rogercop incident was still fresh in his mind and he was not eager to repeat it.

Marinette ran home over lunch to finish her dress and Adrien called Nathalie, begging her to spare three invitations to the charity benefit for his friends. With just a little guilting and a lot of promises to accept whatever event his father wanted him at next, he secured three VIP invitations to Gabriel Agreste’s Halloween Charity Benefit. Nathalie dropped off the paper invites right before his afternoon classes began and he thanked her profusely, clutching the invites with a grin. He hurried back to class, excited.

“Guess what I got for you,” he said, sliding into the seat next to Nino. Nino’s eyes widened.

“No way, dude, mean tablet lady really got them for you?”

Adrien laughed, handing over Nino’s invite. “Nathalie’s not mean, Nino. She’s just very busy and stressed sometimes.”

“Whatever you say, man,” Nino said. Adrien passed Alya her invitation.

“I’ll take Marinette’s too,” Alya said. “Knowing her, she’ll lose it.”

“Where is she?” Adrien asked, glancing at her empty seat.

“Probably still working on that dress.”

The class started and Marinette skidded through the door five minutes later, breathless but triumphantly holding a large bag. She apologized to the teacher and took her seat next to Alya, the two of them whispering fiercely. Adrien turned his attention back to the lesson.

“We’ll see you at the party!” Nino and Alya said at the end of the school day, heading down the street. Marinette fiddled with the handles of the large bag she carried as she and Adrien walked towards the daycare. He tried to think of ways to get her to relax around him. She always seemed so tense, like something about him bothered her. He wasn’t sure what he’d done. Maybe it was leftover from their first meeting. Maybe it was because he was friends with Chloe despite how awful Chloe could be.

The costumed kids cheered when they arrived at the daycare and he let himself relax, ruffling Isaac’s hair and letting Maria cling to his leg. Amelie chattered about how well things were going with their help and he and Marinette excused themselves to change into their costumes. Plagg flew out of his bag the second he was shut in the bathroom, searching the room for something edible.

“Plagg, knock that off,” Adrien said, pulling on the Ladybug costume he’d found.

“But I’m starving!” Plagg whined. “I haven’t had any food since this morning!”

“You’re an immortal being, I think you’ll be fine,” Adrien said.

“What if you have to transform? I’ll be too weak and starved to help!” He collapsed dramatically onto the bathroom sink, placing one tiny paw on his forehead. “Oh, woe is me! Adrien is starving me and shows no pity for my rumbling tummy!”

Adrien couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, you little glutton. The cabinet under the sink in the kitchen has some snacks. Stay out of sight, though!”

Plagg disappeared through the wall. Adrien fixed the mask onto his face and checked his reflection in the mirror. He opened his phone and sighed dreamily at the picture of Ladybug he used as his background. He took a picture of himself in the costume and posted it to his Instagram, typing out a generic message about Halloween. He tucked his phone back into his bag and opened the door to the bathroom. The kids cheered when he emerged. A second later, the door to the other bathroom opened and Marinette stepped out to more cheers from the kids.

Adrien’s eyes widened and he felt heat creep up into his cheeks as he took in Marinette’s costume. She’d dressed up as Chat Noir – as him! Neat cat ears sat atop her head and the mask hid the freckles that normally dotted her cheeks. He wondered if she’d made the costume herself – if so, she’d done a wonderful job of it. He noticed that she was blushing under his examination and quickly tore his gaze away. The kids were clamoring for them to act out an akuma battle, to play akuma attack with them, to do something other than just stand there and stare. Adrien picked up the nearest child, Maura, and lifted her above his head, saying, “Never fear, for Ladybug is here!” Maura squealed with delight and he saw one of the kids pulling Marinette’s cat tail out of the corner of his eye.

Despite how riled up they were about Halloween, the kids were fairly well-behaved for the rest of the afternoon. Marinette and Adrien acted out some of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s best battles. She did an excellent job of mimicking his puns and he smiled at the thought that she might enjoy them. They made cutout sugar cookies with the kids and got frosting everywhere in the snack room. He watched the way that Marinette’s tongue poked out in concentration as she frosted one of the cookies. At some point, he saw Plagg sneak a cookie off the table and squirrel it away in Adrien’s bag.

For the first time since he’d started working at the daycare, five o’clock came far too quickly. Nathalie and his driver pulled up outside and he retrieved the suit that she’d brought. He and Marinette once again ducked into the bathrooms to change. He checked his bag and found Plagg sitting contentedly atop his stack of schoolbooks, cookie crumbs stuck to his face. Adrien rolled his eyes and quickly changed into the suit. At least Plagg hadn’t been seen.

“Those were good cookies,” Plagg declared, not moving from his seat in Adrien’s bag. “We need to go to that Marinette girl’s bakery more often. They tasted just like the ones you got from there.”

“You are such a little glutton,” Adrien said, not without affection, and closed his bag.

When he stepped out of the bathroom this time, Marinette was waiting for him. He found himself stopped cold by her for the second time that day. She gave a little turn in her dress, nervously asking, “How does it look?”

“You made that?” he said incredulously. She nodded, cheeks flushed. He raked his gaze over the dress, appraising it from a fashion standpoint. The design was clearly based on old-fashioned ballgowns, with a foamy pink floor-length skirt. It had neat, flowing lines. When she turned, the skirt swished in a way that indicated that it was made of a lighter, slippery fabric like satin. She’d embroidered the same design that he saw on her purse and backpack on the bodice, the stitching climbing up along her waist and sides. She had short, sheer sleeves and the back of the dress dipped down to her mid-back, showing off her shoulder blades. The front was cut modestly and she’d paired the dress with a silver locket. She’d twisted her hair into a neat bun atop her head. She looked beautiful. He finally managed to say, “It’s incredible. You’re an amazing designer, Marinette.”

Her blush deepened and she stammered, “Thank you. Should we – should we go?”

“Yes,” he said, blinking. He picked up his bag and led her to the car. Nathalie said nothing when they climbed in and soon they were sliding through the Paris streets towards the venue his father had chosen for the party. Marinette leaned forward in her seat, peering out the windows.

“I hope Alya and Nino find the place alright,” she said.

“I’m sure they will,” he assured her.

“I sure hope so,” Marinette said. “Alya still has my invite.”

He laughed a little and she turned her head away from him. They rode the rest of the way in silence. Nathalie started telling Adrien which important people he had to speak to, how many times he needed to do the rounds while he was there, and how many pictures he had to take with people. He half-listened, familiar enough with the routine that he could recite it verbatim. He wondered how he could get Marinette to like him better. He wanted to be friends with her, but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she didn’t like him despite how much she had warmed up to him since their first meeting. Maybe he could try offering to help her with some of her projects at the daycare. That might help; she seemed overwhelmed sometimes.

“Adrien,” Nathalie snapped. “We’re here.”

He blinked, looking out the window. Marinette had already gotten out of the car. He spotted her down the street with Alya and Nino, her hands waving through the air as she spoke. “Why did you drop Marinette off over there?”

“She and your other friends are going in through the other entrance,” Nathalie said, typing something into her phone. “They’ll meet you inside.”

Adrien watched the three of them disappear into the building, disappointed. He’d hoped to walk in with them. Instead, he got out at the prescribed location, smiled and waved at the photographers, and used his best model strut to walk into the building. He relaxed a little once he’d made it inside but kept his smile plastered to his face, shaking hands and handing out polite greetings. He finally spotted his friends through the crowd. They were at one of the hors d’oeuvres tables. Nino was tucking food folded in a napkin into his pockets while Alya stood guard. Marinette was speaking animatedly to an older man, gesturing at her dress. Adrien made his way over to them and recognized the man that Marinette was speaking to as one of the designers his father sometimes worked with.

“I was definitely inspired by your spring 2013 collection,” Marinette was saying, spreading her skirt a little. “I loved the way that you used layered satin to create the shapes of the skirts. I didn’t layer it, but I have a petticoat or two to mimic the shape. I used a softer fabric for those to keep the flowing movement smooth.”

“It’s wonderful work,” the designer said. “If you ever want to consider an internship at my label, I would be happy to take a look at some of your other designs.”

Marinette’s eyes widened and she nodded vigorously. The designer gave her a card and excused himself, disappearing into the crowd again. Adrien sidled up next to her, picking up an hors d’oeuvre and discreetly dropping it in his pocket to placate Plagg. “I see you’re making new friends.”

Marinette turned to him, her eyes shining. “He just came up to me and asked who made my dress! I told him that I did and he said it was wonderful work!”

“That’s so great!” Adrien said. “I’m sure that you’ll get a few more cards by the time the night is over.”

She just beamed and tucked the card into her purse. Alya and Nino joined them and enthused with Marinette about the designer. The four of them wandered around the party and Adrien was grateful for their company as he shook the necessary hands and took the needed pictures. One of the photographers offered to take a picture of the four of them and they gathered for a group photo. Nino and Alya stood on Adrien’s left and Marinette stood awkwardly on his right. “Arm around the lovely lady, Adrien!” the photographer said, sing-song. He and Marinette glanced at each other and away, their cheeks flushed. He gently set his arm around her waist and Nino slung his arm over his shoulders. He smiled and the photographer began to count down from five. Right near the end, Nino gave Adrien a little jerk, pulling him slightly off balance and Marinette with him. They all laughed and the flash from the photographer went off. The photographer promised to send four copies of the best photo of the set to Adrien and scurried off into the crowd.

“Let’s dance,” Alya said over the noise, dragging Nino to the dance floor. The band was playing a lively tune and before Adrien knew it, she and Nino had disappeared between the dancing couples. He turned to Marinette, lifting his hand to nervously rub the back of his neck. She was avoiding his gaze. He debated internally for a second whether or not it would be smart to ask. Finally, he worked up the courage.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, offering her a hand. She squeaked and his smile faltered. “What?”

She cleared her throat. “Yes, that would be lovely.”

He put one hand on her waist and gripped the other. She set her hand on his shoulder a little unsurely. He started them off in the dance, the two of them moving awkwardly around the dance floor. He tried to think of something to say to break the silence. “So, are you working on any projects at the moment?”

“Yes,” she said, staring at his chest. “I’ve been working on a design for new aprons for my parents. I designed the bakery logo, so they wanted me to make new aprons to match.”

“You designed the logo? It looks really nice.”

“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “It took me a long time to decide on a design.”

“How long did it take you to design that dress?”

“Well, I started back in–”

Someone screamed and Adrien whirled around, putting himself in front of Marinette. A man further away in the crowd had a knife to the throat of a woman that Adrien recognized as the wife of one of the designers. Before he could move, servers, security guards, even people dressed as guests had pulled out knives and taken more guests hostage. He heard a soft gasp behind him and turned, dreading what he would see.

Marinette’s eyes were wide over the knife to her throat, the man behind her gripping her hair with his other hand.

“This is a hostage situation!” someone yelled. “Where are you keeping the funds?”

“This is a charity event,” Adrien heard his father say calmly. “And we don’t negotiate with criminals.”

Marinette whimpered as the man holding the knife to her throat pulled at her hair.

“Hostages to me!” the man yelled, and Marinette was dragged away. The crowd parted and Adrien saw that the man who was giving orders was also holding a sleek black handgun. He was dressed like a security guard. “The rest of you, start handing over your valuables!”

He slipped through the crowd of terrified guests, making a beeline for the curtains along the wall. He managed to slip behind one in a far corner where no one would see and reached into his pocket to grab Plagg. “You better not have overeaten, because my friends are in trouble.”

Plagg just nodded somberly. “Let’s get out there.”

Adrien whispered, “Claws out” and closed his eyes as the transformation washed over him. He grabbed his staff off his belt. Cold, hard rage was beginning to replace his fear. He pushed aside the curtain and sauntered out into the crowd of guests. They began to murmur as he passed through, making a beeline for the men holding the hostages. “Well, well, my night just got interesting,” he announced, twirling his staff like a cane. “Doing a patrol and what do I run into but a hostage situation?” He narrowed his eyes at the leader, who was now pointing the gun at him with shaky hands. “Stealing from sick children, are we?” He gestured at the banner announcing that the money would be going to the children’s hospital. “That’s a different kind of cruel.”

His gaze skimmed over the hostages. There were only six, fewer than he’d thought. Marinette was right next to the leader. The man with the gun spoke and he returned his gaze to him, filling it with as much disgust as he could. “We’re not scared of you,” the man said. “We have hostages! You won’t try anything.”

Adrien lifted his staff and it shot out to his right, shattering the nearest window. “Everyone get out now!”

The terrified party guests ran for the newly created exit and Adrien refocused on the men in front of him. The leader was clearly determined to hold out as long as possible, but the others looked unsure. Marinette met his eyes over the knife at her throat and he swallowed hard at the fear in her eyes. He was Chat Noir, protector of Paris, and he was going to get everyone out of this alive. He wished Ladybug were there. He heard sirens going off in the distance. Someone had called the police.

“Alright, Chat Noir,” the leader said, still pointing the gun at him. “You’ve got no leverage, so how do you think you’re going to beat us?”

Adrien leaned on his staff, pretending to think. “I could always just beat you up,” he said casually, watching as the man holding the hostage next to Marinette trembled a little. “You don’t have a hostage, and you’re far too busy pointing that gun at me.”

Before the leader could process what he’d said, Adrien lunged for him, his teeth bared and his claws out. The leader went down with a scream and the others bolted, dropping their knives and their hostages in their terror. Adrien shot his foot out and tripped one, the man’s head slamming painfully into the floor, then threw his baton like a boomerang to knock the rest out. They all went down like sacks of potatoes. He stood, kicking the leader in the head to knock him out, and looked up at the hostages. Aside from a couple small nicks on their shoulders, they all looked unharmed. “Are you all alright?”

“Yes, thank you, Chat Noir,” the aging woman to his left said. He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck a little bashfully.

“Just doing my job as a servant of Paris,” he said. The hostages began to head for the outside. He went to turn away, wanting to find a private place to detransform, but someone grabbed his arm. He turned to see Marinette standing there, her eyes wide.

“My friend,” she said. “My friend Adrien, I didn’t see him run out with everyone else. Is he okay?”

“Yes,” Adrien assured her, his pulse skipping when he realized that she had called him her friend. “I saw him go out with his father.”

She relaxed, visibly relieved. “Thank you.”

“Was he your ride home?” Adrien joked.

“Well, yes, but that’s not why I was worried about him if that’s what you’re implying,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. “Stupid cat.”

“Of course not,” he said again, laughing a little. He offered her a little bow. “I’m glad I could be of service, Princess.”

“Princess?” She raised one eyebrow at him. He glanced up at her from his bow, a smirk curling his lips.

“Is that not why you’re wearing such a beautiful dress?”

He leapt away before she had a chance to reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm plot  
> also in my version of events, this is the first time that Marinette and Chat Noir interact, not in the fight with the artist like in canon, hence this version of why he calls her Princess


	4. Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can have a little marichat. as a treat.
> 
> as always, i owe rebelsalamander my life. she also betaed this fic (unrelated)

Adrien was halfway into it before he realized what was happening.

He was falling in love with Marinette.

“Plagg,” he said, facedown on his bed. “I’ve come to a conclusion.”

“That you should be giving me more cheese for all the work I do for Paris?”

“No, that Marinette is really awesome.”

“Ah,” Plagg said. “You’ve finally realized there’s more than one kind of cheese in the world.”

“Not everything is about cheese,” Adrien laughed, lifting his head from the bed and scratching Plagg’s head in the spot he knew he liked. “And I still love Ladybug. That’s why it’s so complicated.”

“What’s complicated about it?” Plagg asked, flopping down onto the bed.

Adrien groaned, burying his face in the pillow. He thought back to everything that had happened at Halloween and in the week since. After seeing Marinette in that dress, seeing the way she worried about her friends, the passion in her eyes when she was talking about fashion with that designer, he’d started to pay more attention to her. She’d referred to him as her friend, which confirmed that she didn’t hate him, so he felt more comfortable trying to get to know her better. She was unwaveringly kind to everyone, even Chloe at times. She was smart and talented, and she never took shit from anyone. She reminded him of Ladybug sometimes.

He groaned again, lifting his head and letting it fall back into the pillow. He couldn’t fall in love with Marinette! There was Ladybug, and the daycare, and his father to worry about. Things were far too complicated!

“Why don’t you just go talk to her?” Plagg said. His voice sounded muffled, meaning he was rummaging through the cheese cabinet. “As Chat Noir, so that she isn’t weird around you the way she is when you’re Adrien.”

“Sure, Plagg,” Adrien said, his voice muffled by the pillow he was currently trying to smother himself with. “I’ll just show up at her house and say hi. That won’t be weird at all.”

Still, once night fell, he whispered, “Claws out,” and jumped out the window.

He and Ladybug didn’t have a patrol planned for that night, so he didn’t need to worry about missing anything. He made for the Dupain-Cheng bakery, stealing across the silent rooftops. When he was close by, he stopped. Marinette was standing on the balcony, staring out at the city. He jumped over to the roof next to hers and softly called out, “Hey, Princess.”

He’d been trying not to startle her, but she let out a short shriek and stumbled backwards, her gaze flying around before it landed on him. Her expression instantly morphed from one of shock to a fond exasperation. She leaned against the railing. “What are you doing here, Chat Noir?”

He shrugged, leaping over to sit on the railing next to her. He let his legs dangle and looked out over the city. “You have a nice view,” he said quietly. Marinette hummed in agreement. “Have you managed to get yourself involved in any other hostage situations?”

She snorted. “No.”

“A shame,” he sighed. “It would be nice to be your dashing knight again.”

“Chat!” she laughed, pushing his shoulder. He let himself grin. This was nice. It was almost…normal. She was so stiff around him when he was Adrien, even if she considered him a friend. With Chat Noir, she was relaxed.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about this bakery,” he said, suddenly realizing he should explain how he knew where she lived, or at least give some kind of excuse for stopping by. “So imagine my surprise when I see a princess standing on top of it. Are you the one that makes the delicious pastries?”

“No, my parents run the bakery,” she said, playing with the end of one of her ponytails. “I sometimes help them out, but I’m a total klutz, so there’s always a fear that I’m going to knock over a giant cake or something.”

“It occurs to me that I don’t know your name,” he said.

“I’m Marinette,” she said, holding her hand out to him. He leapt off the railing and landed gracefully on the floor of the balcony, dropping into a bow and kissing the offered hand. She turned red and snatched it away. “You were supposed to shake it, you silly cat.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow. She rolled her eyes with a huff and he laughed. “It’s very nice to officially meet you, Marinette.”

“You as well,” she said. He jumped back onto the railing, once again letting his legs dangle. She leaned against the railing next to him. They spent a few minutes in silence, watching the city go by below. It was a cool evening, the breeze caressing his cheek. He could smell rain on the horizon and the lingering scent of the flowers on the balcony. The headlights from the cars blended together into a glowing river winding through the streets. 

“If you don’t work in the bakery, what do you do in your spare time?” he asked. “You were at Gabriel Agreste’s benefit, so I have to assume you like fashion.”

“My friend invited me, actually,” Marinette said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “But yes, I love fashion. I designed the dress I was wearing that night.”

“Incredible. I don’t know much about fashion, but that was a beautiful dress.”

“Thank you,” she said, her ears pink. He let himself smile a little more at the knowledge that he could make her blush. “But that’s my hobby. I do have a job at a daycare.”

“Wow,” he said. “That takes guts.”

“What do you mean?”

“Toddlers?” he said. “Lovely things from a distance. Up close? Little monsters.”

“They’re not!” Marinette said defensively and he was surprised by the offense in her tone. “They’re sweet kids, really, they’re just very energetic. Kids are misunderstood, which is ridiculous when you remember that we were all kids at one point. The kids at the daycare have the same needs as us, they just don’t know how to express them the way that we do. That’s why everyone thinks they’re so difficult. But once you learn how they express their needs, they’re not any more difficult to deal with than adults.” She stopped to catch her breath, lowering her voice as she seemed to realize that it had begun to rise. “I love working with kids. They’re sweet and kind and just a little loud at times. It’s difficult and frustrating sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

_ Shit _ , Adrien thought.  _ I’m completely screwed. _

“It’s nice that you like it, then,” he said. “I don’t think I could do it.”

“It’s easier with help,” she admitted.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, one of my classmates works with me. He’s the one that invited me to the benefit. Adrien Agreste.”

“Ooh, a bigshot,” Adrien said. “What’s that like? Is he snobby?”

“No, not at all,” she said. “He’s… really nice, actually.” He glanced over at her. She looked over at him and away again. “He’s great with the kids. He’s genuinely kind and caring.”

“That’s good. I can’t imagine having to work at a daycare with someone who wasn’t nice,” Adrien said. “I bet he likes you, too.”

She snorted. “You’re a flirt, Chat Noir.”

“Maybe so,” he said cheekily.  _ Just with you and Ladybug.  _ They spent another moment in comfortable silence. He chanced a look at her out of the corner of his eyes, noting the way the moon gave her hair a silvery glow. She was staring down at the street, clearly lost in thought, and he thought that she looked unbearably pretty. “Well, look at the time.” He pretended to look at an imaginary watch on his wrist. “I should go before this appears scandalous to the Parisians out for an evening stroll.” She rolled her eyes at him. He bowed to her again. “Until next time, Princess.”

“Next time?”

“Well, you know what they say about the cat,” he said.

“Oh? What do they say?”

“Satisfaction brought it back.” He leapt off the balcony, listening to the last echoes of her laugh as he sprinted across the rooftops, heading home.

* * *

He found himself on her balcony again less than a week later. She was bundled up in a thick sweater, watering the plants. He landed on the railing and she barely looked up at him, sighing heavily, though with an upward twitch of her lips. “Hello, Chat Noir.”

“Miss me?” he asked, twirling his tail.

“No,” she said, grinning at him as she set down the watering can. “What brings you to darken my door tonight, kitty?”

His heart thrilled.  _ Kitty _ . Shit. Shit shit shit – “I can’t come see you because we’re friends?”

“Are we?” She quirked one eyebrow. “Friends?”

“I don’t know.” He stretched out on the railing, draping himself along it on his stomach and eyeing her. “Can we be?”

“I don’t see why not,” she said, settling on the edge of the lounge chair. His heart thrilled again and he thought back to the way she spoke so passionately about the kids and how he’d noticed the extra softness in her eyes when they were at the daycare. He rested his head on the railing, watching her adjust the hem of her sweater. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “I could sneak you some cookies from the bakery.”

“I would love that,” he said, his mouth watering. She disappeared down the trapdoor and he jumped off the railing, inspecting her plants. They were clearly well cared for, with lush green leaves. He wondered how often she came up onto the balcony to water them. He touched one of the leaves and it swayed in the breeze. He began to bat at it, more amused than he probably should have been. That’s how Marinette found him when she returned with a plate of sweets – on his back, swatting one of her plants.

“You are more cat-like than I realize,” she said, setting the plate of sweets down on the lounge chair. He quickly got up off the floor and examined the plate. She’d grabbed cookies, sweet buns, Danishes, and macarons. He scarfed down three macarons and she laughed at him, eating one of the sweet buns and licking the sugar from her fingers. They began to talk, about things that didn’t matter and things that did. She admitted that she was stressed from work and school and other extracurricular activities. He told her that he had a lot of expectations placed on him at home and that he liked being Chat Noir for the freedom it gave him. She gently steered the conversation away when it started to get to personal, too close to something that might give away his identity. He was grateful. It was so easy to talk to her, to want to spill his guts and stay on the balcony forever.

_ Shit shit shit. _

A part of him panicked, felt guilty, wanted to back out and run away. The rest of him was caught up in the way Marinette laughed. He felt like a veil had been lifted and he was seeing her in a completely new light.

It was late when he finally said that he should go and kissed her hand as he gave her a goodbye bow. She rolled her eyes and called him a silly kitty and he fell a little harder.

_ Shit _ .

He collapsed into his bed, burying his face in the pillow and wishing he could smother himself with it.

“Uh oh,” Plagg said. “Somebody’s got it bad for someone other than Ladybug.”

“This is crazy,” Adrien said to the pillow. “I mean, this is insane, right? I love Ladybug.”

“And you love Marinette,” Plagg said. “How funny life is.”

“Plagg,” Adrien whined. “Please don’t make fun of me for this.”

“I’m not!” Plagg said something else that Adrien didn’t catch. “Anyway, I say you go for it.”

“Well, I don’t know if I trust your advice,” Adrien replied. Plagg made a mildly offended sound but said nothing else, just flew to his little corner of the bed to munch on the sweet bun that Adrien had saved from the bakery.

* * *

Adrien stared down at the folder of homework that Chloe had thrust into his hands and actively wished for the sweet release of death. More than that, he wished that Ladybug hadn’t abandoned him with Chloe. Chloe was hardly bearable to be around when she actually respected him, when he was Adrien. Now, as Chat Noir, it was clear that she saw him as the idiot sidekick.  _ And _ she was making him do her homework. Humiliating.

His staff buzzed and he grabbed it, tossing the folder of homework to the side. “Ladybug. What’s the news?”

“I need you to protect this girl, Marinette,” Ladybug said, sending him a picture of Marinette. His heart skipped.  _ I can’t escape you, can I, Princess?  _ “It appears that the Evillustrator has a little crush on her. He’s invited her on a date tonight for his birthday. I need you to follow her and apprehend him.”

“Where will you be?” he asked.

“A secret mission,” she said. “I’ll catch up with you. Let me know when you have the Evillustrator. Destroy the akuma if you can. I’m trusting you to take care of this one.”

“I won’t let you down, Bugaboo,” he said, smiling a little at her exasperated sigh at the use of his nickname for her. “Stay safe.”

“You too. See you soon.”

“Gotta go!” he told Chloe, and gladly leapt off her balcony.

* * *

“Chat Noir,” Marinette said, surprised. He grinned, twirling the flower that he’d picked from a planter near the bakery. “What are you doing here?”

“Your dashing knight is at your service, Princess,” he said, giving her his best over-exaggerated bow and handing her the flower. “I’ll be your escort tonight to protect you from the supervillain.”

“How dashing,” she said, tucking the flower into her purse. “Do you have a plan?”

He wavered. “What did the villain tell you about where you’ll be meeting?”

She rolled her eyes and gestured for him to come inside. They spent the next half hour sitting at the bottom of the stairs, planning out the encounter with the Evillustrator. By the time everything was decided, it was almost time for Marinette to meet him. Adrien slipped out the back way and settled on a rooftop to watch. He felt bad for Nathanael, really. He was just tired of Chloe’s bullying and wanted to impress the girl he liked.

Adrien watched the way that Marinette spoke to him and couldn’t help the small flare of jealousy. He had no claim on Marinette, he reminded himself. Just because he’d been visiting her on her balcony for almost three weeks, at least twice a week, didn’t mean that he had any claim on her. He gnashed his teeth when she touched the Evillustrator’s shoulder. She wasn’t his. She was his friend, his friend that he visited when he was lonely who gave him cookies and let him bat at her plants and –

She was making the signal. He jumped down from the roof and crept to the bridge, waiting for the perfect moment. He internally scolded himself for getting so distracted. He couldn’t let Ladybug down while she was busy with her secret mission. He could let  _ Marinette  _ down. She was putting herself directly in danger for the mission.

He saw her grab the pen and extended his staff to trap the Evillustrator in place.

“How could you?” the Evillustrator said, hurt. Marinette clutched the pen. Adrien saw the way that the Evillustrator shifted on the bench, saw what he was planning, and shouted, “Marinette, break it!”

She quickly snapped the pen in half and the akuma fluttered out as Nathanael transformed back into himself. Adrien leapt forward, shouting “Cataclysm!” mid-leap, and snatched the akuma from the air. He landed before Marinette, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

“What’s going to happen?” she asked. “Without Ladybug to fix everything?”

“I’m not sure,” he said honestly.

That was when the boat started to dissolve.

Adrien’s eyes widened with horror and he reached forward to grab Marinette around the waist. Nathanael was still a few feet away, staring around at the scene with confusion. Adrien ran to him, grabbing the back of his shirt as he extended his staff and used it to shove them all up and off the boat. Nathanael screamed and Adrien aimed for the bridge, hoping for a good landing. He dropped Nathanael on the ground and stumbled once, setting Marinette down on her feet. He glanced over his shoulder at the dissolving boat and shivered. He offered Nathanael a hand up. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Nathanael said. “Thank you, Chat Noir. Where’s Ladybug?”

“She’ll be here soon, I’m sure.” He turned to Marinette. “Do you need me to walk you home?”

“The bakery is right there,” she said. “I’ll be fine. You should make sure Nathanael gets home safe.”

“Marinette,” Nathanael said. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”

“It’s okay, Nath, really,” Marinette said. He tried to say something else, but she set her hand on his shoulder, cutting him off. She smiled at him. “I get it. It’s fine.”

Nathanael nodded and Adrien let him climb onto his back so that he could give him a piggyback ride home. He watched Marinette run back to the bakery before starting off for Nathanael’s home, following the directions that the terrified redhead shouted in his ear.

Once he had dropped a shaking and pale Nathanael off at home, he turned back, wanting to visit the bakery and make sure that Marinette was okay. His staff buzzed at him. He answered, grinning when Ladybug appeared. “How was your secret mission, milady?”

“You did good work with the Evillustrator,” she said. “I arrived at the scene just after you left. Marinette told me what happened. I cleaned it all up. Thank you for everything.”

“My pleasure, milady,” he said. “Did Marinette get home safe?”

“Yes, I escorted her,” Ladybug said, a hint of something odd in her tone. “I’ll see you for patrol tomorrow, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Bugaboo,” he said. She rolled her eyes and said goodbye before hanging up. He grinned again and tucked his staff away. His ring beeped at him and he looked down, realizing that he hadn’t been paying attention. He was about to transform back. He quickly made his way to a dark alley and let the transformation drop. Plagg collapsed dramatically into his hands.

“I’m starving!” he cried, placing one black paw on his forehead. “I fear I’ll die!”

“You’re not going to die,” Adrien laughed. He pulled some cheese out of his pocket and Plagg gulped it down gratefully. “Now come on, we have one more stop to make tonight.”

“Please tell me that one stop is a cheese shop.”

“A bakery,” Adrien said with a grin. “Claws out.”

Marinette was standing on her balcony when he arrived and raised an eyebrow at him when he landed on her railing. “I expected you would go home, kitty.”

“I wanted to make sure that you were alright,” he said. “Are you?”

“I’m fine,” she said, tracing the railing with her finger. “I feel bad for Nathanael, though. He just wanted to…” She sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

“He’s a guy with an unrequited crush.” Adrien shrugged. “I know what that’s like. He’ll be okay.”

Marinette leaned against the railing next to him. “Yeah. He’ll be okay.”

They sat in silence for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts. Another minute later, Marinette started to cry.

“What? What’s wrong?” Adrien asked, jumping down from the railing. She wiped at her cheeks, hiccupping.

“It’s nothing, it’s stupid, it’s just…” She paused to take a breath. “I just get how it feels, you know? To not have the guts to say something to the person you like, to know that they’ll probably never like you back.”

Adrien’s heart skipped. “I know how that feels too,” he said.

“No, you don’t!” she cried, pressing her hands to her eyes. “I’ve seen you flirt with Ladybug. You’re not afraid to tell her how you feel.”

He didn’t know what else to say. He felt awful just standing there, watching her cry, so he stepped forward and hesitantly put his arms around her. He waited for her to pull away and scold him, but she didn’t. She leaned into him, resting her forehead against his chest, and cried. He tried to think of something that he could say, something that would make her feel better.

Finally, after a few minutes of standing there and feeling utterly useless, he said, “Do you want to hear a joke, Princess?”

She laughed a little, the sound vibrating through his whole body. “Sure, kitty.”

“What did the cat say to the Princess?” he asked, staring over her head at the Paris skyline.

“What?”

“My, you look purrfect tonight, Purrincess.”

She laughed again, looking up at him. He smiled down at her. “Thanks, Chat Noir. That was terrible.”

He mock-gasped, lifting one hand from her back to place it on his forehead. “I’m wounded, Princess! That was one of my best!”

She giggled and he expected her to step out of the circle of his arms, but she reached up to touch his face instead. “Thank you.”

His skin burned where she touched it. “It’s my pleasure, Princess.”

She paused, biting her lip. He lost himself in her eyes. They were deep blue, like the ocean, drowning him. She was a wave pulling him under. Plagg would die of laughter if he could hear Adrien’s thoughts, but he didn’t care much. She was right there, in his arms, and she was beautiful. She shifted suddenly, raising herself onto her toes, and before he could register what she was doing, she pressed her lips to his.

It lasted only a second, long enough for his brain to short-circuit and for his entire body to come alive with sensation. She pulled back, biting her lip again. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t–”

He buried his hands in her hair and kissed her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not funny and that's why none of Chat Noir's jokes in this fic will be either but at least that's canon lmao  
> anyway it's occurred to me that i haven't shamelessly plugged my Tumblr yet so if you want to come yell at me, i can be found at @reneesbooks on tumble.hell


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